Iovate Pays $1.5 Million for False Advertising

SAN JOSE (CN) – Iovate Health Systems, a Canadian company embroiled in the 2009 recall of Hydroxycut, will pay $1.5 million to settle 10 California district attorneys’ complaints that it falsely advertised its diet supplements, some of which contain lead. Prosecutors said it’s the second largest multicounty diet supplement settlement ever in California. The 10 district attorneys sued Canada-based Iovate Health Sciences and its U.S. affiliate Iovate Health Systems USA. They claimed Iovate made false and misleading statements about its products, including Accelis, nanoSLIM, Cold MD, Germ MD, Allergy MD, and EZ-Swallow. Prosecutors also said Iovate failed to warn the public that some of the products contained more than one-half of a microgram of lead, in violation of California Proposition 65. Cold MD contained considerably more than one-half of a microgram of lead in a single dose, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement announcing the settlement. Iovate will pay $1.2 million in civil penalties and $300,000 in investigative costs, Rosen said. Iovate did not admit fault or liability, but agreed to abide by court orders to prevent unfair, dangerous, or deceptive business practices. The suit was brought by the district attorneys of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Napa, Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Orange, Shasta, Solano, and Sonoma counties.